Music and voiceover

The voice is clean and even. What's left is not ruining it with music, and recording narration when you're not on camera. Plus one trick for everyone who records sound on a second device.

Music quieter than you think

The most common mistake in videos: the music is louder than it should be. The creator likes it, has heard it ten times and no longer notices that the words are hard to make out. The viewer hears the video once, often in a noisy place, often on the phone speaker, and leaves.

A good target: music under speech 12–20 dB quieter than the voice. Twenty is nearly inaudible on a phone speaker, twelve is already competing with the voice. There's one test: every word is clear without effort, and you only notice the music in the gaps. Under speech, use music without vocals: the song's words fight with yours.

In the gaps between words the music can come up. That's called ducking, and in many editors it's automatic: the music dips by itself when speech starts. Turn it on if you have it. And remember the previous lesson: measure the final loudness on the finished mix of voice and music.

Mistake. Checking the balance only on headphones. On headphones the music seems quieter than it does on a phone speaker. Check on the speaker, ideally not in a silent room.

Where to get music

A chart song in a video for a brand is a copyright violation. On a personal account the platform might mute the audio or limit reach: that's a claim from the rights holder. Repeated claims can lead to strikes and a blocked account. In an ad for a brand, it's also a claim against the brand, after which the brand may refuse to work with you.

There are three safe sources. The platform's built-in library: music the platform itself allows in videos, but usually only inside that platform and often not for business accounts. Free libraries with a licence that allows commercial use: read the terms, sometimes you have to credit the author. Paid subscription libraries: the calmest option for brand work, the licence covers advertising.

If the video is for a brand, ask what music you can use. They often have their own. Either way, keep proof: the track name, where it came from, a screenshot of the licence terms. If a claim turns up six months later, you have something to point to.

Voiceover

Narration over footage is recorded separately from the shoot, which is convenient: you can record at night in a wardrobe full of clothes, the deadest spot in the home. Set the mic up the way you've learnt: 15–20 centimetres from your mouth, slightly to the side of or above your lips, or every "p" will pop. No closer, even though nobody sees your face.

How to read. Picture one person you know and talk to them, rather than reading the text off the page. Slightly slower than conversation, but not flat. Short phrases, a pause after every thought: pauses are easy to cut out later, but words spoken without a pause can't be split.

Record each line three times in a row without stopping and pick the best. If you slip up, don't stop: breathe out and say it again. Drink water before recording and move your jaw around; with a dry mouth, lip smacks show up on every word.

Tip. Sit or stand straight. Slouch and your breathing gets shorter and your voice quieter. It's audible.

Syncing with a clap

If the sound was recorded on a second phone or a computer, it has to be lined up with the video. The trick from film sets: a clap.

Start the video recording and the audio recording. Step into frame with your hands visible, clap once, loudly, then five seconds of silence and your lines, as in the recording lesson. In the edit, find the frame on the video track where your palms meet, find the spike of the clap on the audio track, line them up. From there the tracks run in sync to the end of the take. If the take is longer than ten minutes, clap again at the end: different devices' clocks drift slightly.

One catch. Phones often record at a variable frame rate, and then the sound drifts by the end of the take even with a perfect clap. Convert the video to a constant frame rate before editing, through your editor's export settings or a free converter.

Many editors sync by sound automatically, using the phone's own audio track. You still want the clap to check the automation got it right.

Do this now

• Put music without vocals under your video and lower it until you can hear every word without effort. Check on the phone speaker.
• Find the licence terms of the library you take music from and save a screenshot with the track name.
• Record one line of voiceover three times in a row without stopping and pick the best take.